Submit to Special Issue Submit Abstract to Special Issue Review for Water Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Advanced Fluid Mechanics in Hydraulic Engineering: Turbulence, Multiphase Flows, and Sediment Dynamics

Print Special Issue Flyer
Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
Published Papers

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Hydraulics and Hydrodynamics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 January 2027 | Viewed by 2806

Share This Special Issue

Editors

Prof. Dr. Roberto Gaudio

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Civil Engineering, Università della Calabria, Ponte P. Bucci, Cubo 42B, 87036 Rende, CS, Italy
Interests: environmental fluid mechanics; sediment transport; local scour; turbulent jets; fluid-structure interaction; eco-hydraulics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Nadia Penna

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Civil Engineering, Università della Calabria, 87036 Arcavacata, Rende CS, Italy
Interests: environmental fluid mechanics; sediment transport; local scour; turbulent jets; fluid-structure interaction; eco-hydraulics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Understanding the intricate interplay between turbulent flows, mobile boundaries, and submerged structures is fundamental to advancing the field of hydraulic engineering. This Special Issue focuses on the fine-scale hydrodynamics governing erosion, transport, and deposition processes in both fluvial and maritime settings.

We seek contributions that leverage high-fidelity numerical methods (e.g., LES, DNS, multiphase RANS) and cutting-edge experimental techniques (e.g., PIV, acoustic Doppler profiling) to investigate complex flow fields and their interaction with the environment.

Key topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

Turbulence–sediment interaction: the mechanics of particle entrainment, suspension, and bedload transport in shear flows;
Local scour mechanisms: vortex systems and scouring processes around complex geometries, bridge piers, and offshore hydraulic structures.
Jet hydrodynamics: turbulent properties of submerged jets, including ship propeller wash and their erosive potential on granular beds;
Canopy flows: hydrodynamic adjustments, drag forces, and turbulent structures within and above submerged vegetation;
Fluid–structure interaction: coupled dynamics of flow and rigid or flexible structures in hydraulic environments.

This Special Issue aspires to gather breakthrough studies that refine our theoretical understanding and modeling capabilities of environmental flows, fostering new criteria for advanced hydraulic design.

Prof. Dr. Roberto Gaudio
Dr. Nadia Penna
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

environmental fluid mechanics
sediment transport
local scour
computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
turbulent jets
fluid-structure interaction
eco-hydraulics
multiphase flows

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers

Order results

Result details

Show export options Show export options

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

22 pages, 12133 KB

Open AccessArticle

Numerical Study on the Stability of a Riprap for Submarine Cables and the Protective Solution Under Waterflow Incidence

by Songsong Yu, Yadong Wang, Erxian Zeng, Heng Feng and Zhen Liu

Water 2026, 18(16), 1986; https://doi.org/10.3390/w18161986 - 13 Aug 2026

Viewed by 257

Abstract

This study presents a numerical investigation into riprap stability for submarine cable protection under high-speed incident waterflow conditions. A coupled CFD-DEM numerical model, implemented within the ANSYS 2024 R1 platform, was developed and validated against controlled laboratory experiments. The stability of the riprap was systematically evaluated across a range of incident waterflow velocities and slope ratios. Numerical results show that localized high-velocity waterflow regions—characterized by intense shear stress—are the predominant destabilizing mechanism governing riprap failure. Elevated incident waterflow velocity intensified localized hydrodynamic disturbances over the riprap top and upstream-facing slope, triggering incipient motion, stone detachment, and subsequent transport of surface armor rocks. As the riprap slope became steeper, the threshold waterflow velocity for instability decreased from 4.2 m/s to 3.6 m/s. Furthermore, interconnecting plates—deployed as an active protective solution—suppress flow-induced erosion over the riprap surface and mitigate localized instability, thereby enhancing global structural stability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Fluid Mechanics in Hydraulic Engineering: Turbulence, Multiphase Flows, and Sediment Dynamics)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

28 pages, 11003 KB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of the Performance of a Finite Volume Physics-Based Model for Soil Erosion Simulation

by Amanda Braga, Sergio Martínez-Aranda and Pilar García-Navarro

Water 2026, 18(15), 1870; https://doi.org/10.3390/w18151870 - 1 Aug 2026

Viewed by 224

Abstract

Having reliable tools for characterizing rainfall-induced soil erosion is fundamental to the effective management of agroforestry systems in order to increase resilience against climate change. Physics-based models provide a robust, comprehensive and widely applicable framework to quantify runoff generation and soil erosion during intense rainfall events in agroforestry catchments. In this work, we propose a novel hydro-erosive model to simulate hydrodynamical flow and bed mobilization, movement and deposition. This hydro-erosive model solves the two-dimensional shallow water equations (SWE-2D) with hydrological source terms for runoff generation, coupled with the 2D depth-averaged solid transport and the soil surface evolution equations. The partial differential system is solved using a finite volume method. Alternative Integral/Differential Bed Slope and explicit upwind/implicit pointwise friction term discretization options can be used to improve performance in terms of numerical stability and conservation. The behavior of different discretization options in this hydro-erosive model is evaluated through an analytical hillslope verification, a benchmark V-catchment rainfall–runoff test and a laboratory dam-break experiment over an erodible bed. The results show that the Differential Bed Slope formulation combined with the upwind friction discretization provides the most accurate and conservative predictions. Also, an Upwind Bed Updating method for integrating soil surface elevation change is compared with the cell-centered integration of the bed change term by suppressing non-physical oscillations without compromising computational efficiency. Overall, the proposed open-source hydro-erosive model provides a reliable and computationally efficient framework for high-resolution simulations of rainfall-induced soil erosion and represents a valuable tool for environmental and agroforestry applications, but appropriate calibration and mesh resolution are required to ensure reliable predictions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Fluid Mechanics in Hydraulic Engineering: Turbulence, Multiphase Flows, and Sediment Dynamics)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

21 pages, 5551 KB

Open AccessArticle

The Effects of Tip Clearance on the Internal Flow Characteristics of a Mixed-Flow Pump Under Near-Stall Conditions

by Mingming Long, Wei Li, Haoming Li and Ramesh K. Agarwal

Water 2026, 18(9), 1027; https://doi.org/10.3390/w18091027 - 26 Apr 2026

Viewed by 825

Abstract

Leakage flow interferes with the main flow movement and has a close relationship with the rotational stall phenomenon. To study the rotational stall characteristics of mixed-flow pumps under different tip clearances (rim clearances), numerical simulations of the internal flow field of the mixed-flow pump were carried out based on the SST k-ω turbulence model and hexahedral structured meshes, with the tip clearances set to 0.2 mm, 0.5 mm, and 0.8 mm respectively. The external characteristics, internal flow field under stall conditions, impeller surface pressure, and internal vorticity distribution of the mixed-flow pump were compared among the three different tip clearances. The research results show that when the tip clearance is 0.5 mm, the numerical simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental results, indicating the high reliability of the simulation. Under the three different tip clearances, the near-stall and deep-stall operating points on the external characteristic curves are consistent. When the tip clearance is 0.8 mm, the positive slope characteristic of the flow rate–head curve of the mixed-flow pump is the most obvious. From the small flow rate condition to the large flow rate condition, the influence of the tip clearance on the efficiency of the mixed-flow pump gradually increases. Under deep-stall conditions, with increasing tip clearance, the stall vortex at the flow passage outlet causes more intense disturbances to the inlet of the downstream flow passage and induces the formation of new stall vortices at the downstream passage inlet, thereby increasing internal flow losses. The increase in the tip clearance leads to changes in the morphology of the leakage vortex, a decrease in the impeller surface pressure, intensification of flow disorder, and enhancement of the leakage vortex intensity. Moreover, compared with the rated condition, the leakage vortex of the mixed-flow pump under stall conditions is more affected by the tip clearance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Fluid Mechanics in Hydraulic Engineering: Turbulence, Multiphase Flows, and Sediment Dynamics)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 7327 KB

Open AccessArticle

Hydraulic Characteristics Analysis of Free-Surface-Pressurized Flow in Long Tailrace Systems Under Variable Load Conditions

by Yuguo Zhou, Xin He, Daqing Zhou, Xiaoliang Li, An Yu and Ling Zhou

Water 2026, 18(4), 449; https://doi.org/10.3390/w18040449 - 9 Feb 2026

Viewed by 778

Abstract

Complex hydraulic transients induced during load adjustment of turbine units in long tailrace tunnels pose significant threats to the safety and stability of tailwater systems. In view of this, based on VOF multiphase flow and compressible water–air models, a three-dimensional full-flow-channel numerical model of long tailrace system incorporating surge shaft and downstream river channel was developed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software to explore the transient impact of load changes on flow rate, water level, and pressure pulsations under different flow regimes in the tailrace tunnel, including open channel flow, pressurized flow, and free-surface-pressurized flow. The results indicate that the discharge at the outlet of the tailrace tunnel exhibits attenuated oscillations in response to load variations, with the most severe fluctuations occurring due to the intense air–water interface mixing during free-surface-pressurized flow. Flow regime transitions are accompanied by air pocket phenomena, resulting in significant fluctuations in air volume fraction. Pressure pulsations show periodic variations, with energy gradually dissipating as they propagate downstream. Open channel flows predominantly feature high-frequency waves, while pressurized flows exhibit intense low-frequency pulsations. Additionally, load changes in one unit have an ultra-low-frequency impact on another unit sharing the same tailrace tunnel, with high-frequency waves being filtered out by the surge shaft. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Fluid Mechanics in Hydraulic Engineering: Turbulence, Multiphase Flows, and Sediment Dynamics)

► Show Figures

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Advanced Fluid Mechanics in Hydraulic Engineering: Turbulence, Multiphase Flows, and Sediment Dynamics

Share This Special Issue

Editors

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Published Papers (4 papers)

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI